Here’s why your stomach growls when you’re hungry

It always happens at the worst possible time.

It seems like it only ever happens in work, in exams, or in a meeting. You're hitting the 11am slump, thinking about lunch, and all of a sudden your stomach lets you know it's on the same page. The obvious reason our stomach rumbles is that we are hungry, but of course there is a science behind it, according to howstuffworks. The noises can come from the small intestines and are the result of muscle contractions in the gastrointestinal tract. All the food and fluid you consume gets squeezed through it during a process called peristalsis. If you did home economics, you might recognise some of this, even if you don't understand it. During peristalsis, the gut is squeezed every few inches to move the contents of your stomach along to its final exit. As well as moving your meal along, these contractions also help churn liquid and different digestive juices together, rendering them into a gooey mix known as chyme. Stomach growling is a result of all this. Your stomach is not out to get you, as these noises can happen any time and not just when you are hungry. But if there is not food in your stomach or small intestine during this process, there's nothing to muffle the sound which means you (and probably everyone in your office) will hear it.